Any comparativists (SA) to give advise on application?

[IndEnth]

Hi guys,

 

I'm in the process of applying to PhD programs in comparative politics and I could use some advise.

I'm looking to do my PhD on South Asia, and am interested in human rights, communal violence/politics and non-state violence in particular.

 

Now, I've got good undergrad and grad grades and some teaching experience, even though not a lot research experience. GRE went very well. But here's the thing: I have sort of an unusual profile, and am struggling to sell it well.

I'm a German national with a BA in journalism and a BS in economics from Germany. I lived four years in India, did my MA in political science at Mumbai University and worked as a journalist. I know Hindi and have volunteered with grass roots organisations for years. I'm currently working as an editor with an international newspaper in Europe and freelancing as an academic editor with a US-based international agency.

 

So as you can see, my profile is sort of all over the place. And I'm really struggling with incorporating this well in my SoP (and partly even in my letters of recommendation). I would really appreciate some guidance/advise from comparativists on

a ) what top schools expect

b ) whether or not to stress my experience as a journalist

c ) how to exploit my four years of experience in India, even though I didn't do political science research

d ) whether it will help to stress my background in economics

e ) how much the academic editing might benefit me in my evaluation

f ) just how much of a disadvantage it will be that I don't hold any US degrees

 

Any help here is appreciated, really! I know that I'm also sort of late with this, but I only just now found the Grad Cafe! I don't know how I missed this before. Have been working on my applications for months...

 

Thanks a lot to everyone!

[cooperstreet]

b ) its on your CV/resume. mention it, dont stress it.

c) mention it. its good. people will like it.

d) mention it, say what methods you learned

e)  you mean editing papers? they dont care

f) do well on your GREs and you'll be fine.

knowing hindi is a huge plus

[IndEnth]

Thanks, cooperstreet!

Out of curiosity, where did you end up studying?

[alphazeta]

That all looks great to me.  There's certainly nothing problematic about a German undergraduate degree (departments often have reservations about students with degrees from countries known for less rigorous systems, but Germany isn't one of those).  

A) People who will eventually be strong researchers in political science (sorry if that's stupidly obvious, but it's ultimately the only real criterion).

B ) I think this is actually quite valuable (not so much the journalism experience as the fact that it involved 4 years in India).  Many comparativists struggle to build up the language skills and connections needed for good field work.  It's definitely a selling point that you should be able to hit the ground running with those skills.  "Stressing" the experience too much may convey the impression that you're not entirely clear on what political science involves, but this is a selling point.  You want to be sure that anyone who reads your file will know that you have language skills and extensive experience in the country where you want to do research.

C) See point B.  It gives you language skills, cultural knowledge, and (hopefully) useful connections and access to networks.

D) Sure.  Definitely bring it up.  Don't overstress but this is also something that probably gave you relevant methodological skills and knowledge.  In some sense, political scientists lie between two extremes: economists (very theoretical/mathematical, limited real-world knowledge, almost never have language skills) and journalists (atheoretical, too focused on contextual knowledge and skills).  Thus, the two aspects of your profile balance each other out and bring you into the (desirable) middle.

E) Not sure what you mean here.

F) Really doesn't matter at all. The German system is known to be rigorous and not to raise the same red flags as certain Asia degrees, for example.  This may raise concerns about your English language skills, but judging by your post, that's not a problem for you. 

[IndEnth]

Many thanks, alphazeta!

Glad to hear that my German degrees will probably not disadvantage me too much. And I'll incorporate the rest!